Valve for flush tanks



Jan. 3, 1933. A. R. GILMORE 1,893,202

VALVE FOR FLUSH TANKS Filed July '7, 1950 Patented Jan. 3, 1933 f UNITED STATES Afreirsur oFFiel-aji@ i l ALLEN n. GmMoRE, or sfr. LoUIs, MISSOURI VALVE ron F'LISH .TANKS .plilieationv filed July 7, 1930. Seriall No. 466,012;

This invention relates to valves for flush ends. Between the ange and the upper tanks, and is primarily concerned with a Yside of the bottom 1 of the tank av gasket 4 novel valve made entirely of solidvr parts so of rubber or other suitable material i'slothat it does not have such buoyancy'of itself cated, and a nut or ring is threaded onto "5 as to iioat on Water, associated 'with which the lower end of the sleeve to bind the parts "55 is ameans operating automatically when the together making a secure and watertight Y valve is tripped to lift the same and hold'it Connection. The upper end portion of the above the outlet opening which it normally sleeve is curved or flared outwardly to procloses, said means automatically operatlngy vide a curved seat section 6 terminating-in T on lowering the water to closingv position. a bead 7, as `showin-and-the lower part of "60,

The valve, being made Vof ysolid parts, is the valveventers said-seat portion'andseats much more durable than the thin walled rubagainst the inner side of the; bead. The berflush'valves now commonly used which sleeve 2 at one side and slightly vbelwthe are subject to rapiddeterioration and usuvupper valve `seat describedhas an integral l ally need replacement in a Vrelatively short inlet 8 extendingthere'from into which the 65 time, said hollow buoyant valves ordinarily .lower end of a vertical overflow pipe 9 being useful anywhere from one to three threads. The overflow pipe extends upward- ',years. rlphe present valveand the automatic `'ly in Vthe tank and takes care ofwater yin means associatedV therewith described aiso the tank 'which for any reason reachesr a may be readily used for replacements in inhigher level than the upper end of the over- 70 stallations now in use, being quickly and How pipe. This iscommonY and well known easily substituted. Moreover, the construcconventional construction in flush valve intion which I have devised is one of a comstallations and neednot be furtherA described.

p y paratively simple and economical character The iloat lvalve of the present-invention "'25 so that the expense of manufacturing the LCOmprisestwo members boundtogether. The 75 same is low.' Y lower member 10 isof relatively soft-rubber It isan object and purpose of the present and is a segment of a sphere, the curved side invention to providea flush valve construcbeing belOW While the upper Side 0f the ApartV tion of the type'set forth and having the 10 is flat and in a horizontal plane# VThe advantages enumerated, as will appear from other member' ofthe valve is a semi-sphere 80 the following description-taken in connection 1l 0f a harder rubber and of ashorter radius "with the accompanying drawing, in which, than -thera-dius of the sphereof WhC'h'h Fig. 1 is a partial side elevation and ver- P21113 10 isa Segment. i tical section showing the valve in its lower A IOd 12'OI1Tled With 2L, flangel 13 -at'itS -85 Closed positionand` upper end extends through the two parts110 85 Y Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the valve and 11 beingthreaded at its lower end to reafter-it has been tripped and lifted, y ceive a binding nut 14. Tightening thefnut Like reference characters refer to like draws the flange 13,.'snugly'against the upper parts in the different figures of the drawing. member 11 Of the/Valve and SGCUIGS the parts. The valve is designed to be used to close together. Should they lower softer section 10 90 theV outlet ofl a flushing tank Vin which a become worn so as'to need replacement uit is quantity of water is held. g Thebottom of Very readily donebyremoving the nut 14. the tank is4 indicated Vfragmentarily at l 1, The upper end of the binding rod 12 is iny Vand has'a'n opening made to' receive an out- 1elOIly bOled and threaded whereby the 15 let'sleeve 2 extending'throughthe opening lower end of the lowerk rod l5 of the lifting 95 tolconnect with a-bowl to which water demechanism is Screwednto place Rod l5 livered'from the tank is carried. The sleeve eXtenCls upwardly, being guided in t-he'br'ackis exteriorly threaded at its lower portion et arm 16 mounted on and extending I'OIIl the and provided with-lan outwardly extending overflow pipe 9, has an eye at itsupperjendgto. '-fang@ 3 a Short distance below A'its upper jOin. with another eye at the lower end-of"100 itic'e the volume of water displaced by the an upper rod 17 located in vertical alignment with the rod 15, and adapted to be connected at its upper end with the counterbalance mechanism which automatically serves as a substitute for the normal buoyancy of the ordinary hollow valve when the valve of my invention is tripped. l Y

Said, counterbalance construction comprises a bracket 18 of L-shape the horizontal portion of which is clamped to the upper end of the overflo-w pipe 9 by a clamp 19. A lever 20 is pivotally mounted near one end at 21 to the upper end of the vert-ical arm of the bracket 18. rlhe opposite end of the lever 20 has an eye 22 through which the upper end portion of rod 17 may be passedrand bent downwardly as shown. A lug 23 extends upwardly at right angles to the lever 20` between its ends. An elongated metal casing 24 preferably, though not necessarily, of cylindrical form 4and closed at both ends has a. ball 25 mounted therein for `free movement. A threaded rod 26 extends from one end of the casing 24, threads through the lug 23 and has a lock nut 27 thereon as shown.

The usual trip lever 28 for operating the mechanism, which extends to the front of the tank has aI free end portion extending under the lever 20. Because the solid flush valve construction described is heavier than waterV it will not normally float.I With the valve in closed position, as shown in Fig. 1, there is the pressure of water in the flush tank above the valve, while the weightof the ball 24 being to one side of the pivot 21 helps to hold the valve in .closed position. On operating the trip 28, as from the full line position in Fig. 2 to thedotted line position, the lever 20 is raised tipping t-he casing 24 so that the ball 25 runs down the same to the other side of the pivot 21 and theaction of its weight plus the normal buoyant effect of water on any body submerged in it is sufficient to lift the valve and maintain itin lifted position, as shown in Fig. 2. The weight of the valve however as the water lowers and thevalve comes above the level o-f the water overcomes the counterbalance of the ball 25 and the valve follows downwardly after the water level is lowered to somewhatbelow the upper portion of the valve until the ball 25 rides over the pivot 21, whereupon theweight of the valve plus the effect of the weight of the ball serves to move the valve rapidly downwardly to seated position against the seat portion 6 of the sleeve 2. This occurs when there is approximately an inch depth of water over the valve seat 6.

It is evident that the counterbalance construction comprising the casing 24 and the weight 25 may be adjusted with respect to the lug 28. on lever 2O so as to give the best performance and, when once adjusted to such position, may be locked therein by tightening the lock nut 27 against the lug, 23. In pracvalve body is substantially four ounces. Vhen the trip at 28 is operated the effect of the counterbalance is the same: as though the valve had become three ounces lighter than the volume o-f water it displaces whereupon it will be elevated or float. As the water recedes or is lowered in the tank, the valve will remain stationary until the water reaches a point at which the valve displaces but one ounce of water, after it becomes hea-vier than the *counterbalanceVV effect and follows and Vfloats lightly on the water until the ball 24 moves to the opposite end of the casing thereby removing its lifting effect on the valve and causing the valvej to close very quickly and very tightly.

ItA will be noted that the pivotal connection of the eyes at the adjacent ends of the rods 15 and 17 is such .as to permit the rod 15 to move vertically while the rod 17 may havev a swinging movement necessitated by the arcuate path of movement of the eye 22 when the lever 20 is moved from the position shown in Fig. 1 to that shown in Fig. 2, or vice versa.

It isvevident also that the entire construction ,including the valve, the rods 15 and 17, the counterbalance and its mountings may be very quickly and easily substituted as a replacement for the float valve construction now commonly used in flush valves. The f, bracket arm 18 is quickly and easily clamped to the upper end of the overflow pipe 9. The guide arm 16 common to practically all flush valve installations may have the rod 15 passed therethrough and the solid valve offl my invention screwed on to the lower end of the rod 15. The lower part 10 of the valve ,of soft rubber insures av very snug and water tight seat, and as said before can be replaced if necessary. The construction is of an economicalydesign but is chiefly valuable by reason of its long life and much greater durability than the ordinary hollow thin walled rubber float valve now commonly used. The invention isf;

defined in the appended claim and is to be considered comprehensive of all forms of structure coming within its scope.

I claim:

In a flush tank having a vertical overflow =j.

pipe therein and an outlet adjacent thereto, the combination ofv a bracket, clamping means for slidably fastening said bracket to the overflow pipe whereby it may be vertically adjustable, a lever arm pivotally mounti ed to the bracket, said lever arm having a projection extending upwardly therefrom, valve means adapted to seat in said outlet opening, means for guiding said valve means, additional means for fastening the last men-i tioned guiding means to the vertical overflow pipe whereby it may be vertically adjusted therealong, said valve means having a weight greater than an equal volume of water, means connecting the valve to the end of the said'v ico iso

lever arm whereby it may be raised and lowered from and toits seat, said connecting means permitting a limited universal movement between the valve and its supporting lever arm, a member having a track therein, means movably mounted on said track, and means to fasten the said member to the projection for the purpose described.

In testimony whereof I aiX my signature.

' ALLEN R. GILMORE. 

